Nsedu Obot Witherspoon, MPH

Nsedu Obot Witherspoon, MPH, serves as the Executive Director for the Children’s Environmental Health Network (CEHN), extending partnerships, organizing, leading, and managing policy, education/training, and science-related programs. For the past 23 years, she has served as a key spokesperson for children’s vulnerabilities and the need for their protection, conducting presentations and lectures across the country.
She is a leader in the field of children’s environmental health, serving on the External Science Board for the Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) NIH Research work. She is a Co-Leader for the Health/Science initiative of the Cancer Free Economy Network, Co-Chair of the America the Beautiful for All Coalition, Lead Chair for Clean Water for All, and leader in the Climate Equity Collaborative. Ms. Witherspoon is also the past Board Chair and current Board Member for the Pesticide Action Network of North America, the Environmental Integrity Project, Healthy Building Network, and serves on the Maryland Children’s Environmental Health Advisory Council.

Ms. Witherspoon has held past appointments on the Children’s Health Protection Advisory Committee for the Environmental Protection Agency, the NIH Council of Councils, the Science Advisory Board for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Board for the American Public Health Association. She is the past Co-Chair of the National Environmental Health Partnership Council, past member of the National Association of Environmental Health Sciences Council and the Institute of Medicine’s Environmental Health Sciences Roundtable.
Ms. Witherspoon has a variety of publications and has the distinct honor of having one of CEHN’s leadership awards, the Nsedu Obot Witherspoon (NOW) Youth Leadership Award, named in her honor. She is also the recent recipient of the William R. Reilly Award in Environmental Leadership from the Center for Environmental Policy at American University, the Snowy Egret Award from the Eastern Queens Alliance, and the 950 Alumni Award by The George Washington School of Public Health and Health Services.

Ms. Witherspoon has a B.S. in Biology Pre Med from Siena College and a M.P.H. in Maternal and Child Health from The George Washington University, School of Public Health and Health Services. She is a proud mom to 4 children!